Saturday, December 15, 2007

USES OF HOME INSURANCE BLOGSPOT

The buyer pays the premium at the time of closing. Title insurance protects against loss arising from problems connected to the title to your property. Before you purchased the house it may have gone through several ownership changes, and the land on which it stands might have gone through many more. There may be a weak link at any point in that chain that could pop up to cause trouble. For example, someone along the way may have forged a signature in transferring title. Or there may be unpaid real estate taxes or other liens. Title insurance covers the insured party for any claims and legal fees that arise out of such problems.
Title insurance protects against losses arising from events that occurred prior to the date of the policy. Coverage ends on the day the policy is issued and extends backward in time for an indefinite period. (This is in stark contrast to property or life insurance, which protect against losses resulting from events that occur after the policy is issued, for a specified period into the future.)The title insurance required protects the lender up to the amount of the mortgage, but it doesn’t protect your equity in the property. For that you need an owner’s title policy for the full value of the home. In many areas, sellers pay for owner policies as part of their obligation to deliver good title to the buyer. In other areas, borrowers must buy it as an add-on to the lender policy.
I recommend doing this because the additional cost, above the cost of the lender policy you have to get, is relatively small.Protection under an owner’s policy lasts as long as the owner or any heirs have an interest in or any obligation with regard to the property. When they sell, however, the lender will require the purchaser to obtain a new policy. That protects the lender against any liens or other claims against the property that may have arisen since the date of the previous policy – in other words, against something you may have done.
For example, if the contractor you failed to pay for remodeling your kitchen places a lien on your home, you are not protected by your title policy: the lien was placed after the date of the policy. You will probably be required to get the lien removed before you can sell the property. But in the event the lien hasn’t been removed and a search has failed to uncover it, the new lender will be protected by a new policy.